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“Comfortable chairs,” Celeste murmurs, her eyes roaming over the venue dispassionately. “The decor is just as I imagined it.”
I nod and follow her gaze, a hint of pride settling in my chest. We’ve always come up with better concepts together than we could individually, but seeing them come to fruition is bittersweet. If things hadn’t gone wrong, could we have had this all along?
I raise my wine glass, and she hesitates a beat before doing the same. “To a successful collaboration, and many more to come,” I say, the words feeling empty. We used to toast to happiness, big dreams, and the love between us.
Celeste’s eyes meet mine, and for a moment, I’m certain I see the same longing I’m feeling in her gaze. Does she miss us the way I do?
“Do you regret it?” I ask without thinking.
Her eyes flash with such a deep sense of loss that it steals my breath away. She studies me as she ponders my question, and I smile wryly.
“This is what I always wanted with you, you know? Dinner in a nice restaurant, and being able to call you mine in public. Here we are, you and me, and we both look like we’d rather be anywhere but here.”
“Doyou?” she asks, her voice sharp. “Do you regret doing what you did, Zane? Somehow I doubt it, or you wouldn’t have attacked Harrison Developments the way you did.”
I take her in, noting her beautiful curly hair and those amber eyes that betray her torment. She looks so lost, so hurt… and I can’t look away. “I do,” I admit. “I regret ever falling for you and thinking my love for you would be enough, that we could get through anything together. I regret believing in us the way I did and risking it all for you.”
I run a hand through my hair and draw a shaky breath. “You know what I regret the most? I regret asking you to dance with me at that gala. I should’ve let you go, should’ve moved on from my childish crush on you, and heeded my grandmother’s warnings. Hell, if I could go back in time, I would’ve left you alone on prom night and wouldn’t have consoled you. I wish I never kissed you, never brought you to a place I’d only ever wanted to share with my wife. All of my regrets have one thing in common, Celeste.You.”
She looks away and wraps her arms around herself, her posture vulnerable. “The feeling is entirely mutual, Zane.” Her voice is soft, defeated, and for once, there’s no malice in her tone. The way she looks at me cuts through all my defenses, and fuck, it makes me want to take back every single word I just uttered.
ChapterSixty-Five
Zane
I glance at Sierra, who’s seated on the counter next to her stove, and snatch the cheese she’s eating out of her hands. “Not only did you demand I come over to cook your favorite cheesy macaroni with no less than six different cheeses, but you’re also eating all the ingredients.”
She crosses her arms and glares at me. “If you cooked quicker, I wouldn’t be hungry enough to steal your stupid, precious ingredients. How hard could it be? Why is it taking so long?”
I stare at her with a deadpan expression. “Sierra, it’s been ten minutes.”
She huffs, and I bite back a smile. My sweet little sister is more irritable than usual today, and I suspect it has everything to do with Celeste. I knew something was up when she requested comfort food, but the way she keeps glancing at me with questions in her eyes confirms it.
“Just ask,” I murmur as I melt together the different varieties of cheese she asked for, creating a sauce I perfected for her.
“Ask what?”
I smile at the pan and shake my head. “Whatever it is that makes you look at me like that. If you’re worried about her, you’re welcome to ask me how she’s doing, but I won’t volunteer any information about her.”
It’s interesting to see how much my sister still cares. That’s the thing with Sierra — once she lets someone into her heart, it’s forever. I suppose we have that in common. “Well…h-how is she?”
I’d been prepared to reassure her, but one look into her worried eyes, and the words lodge in my throat. “She misses you.”
Sierra looks away, but not before I glimpse a hint of torment. “Oh.”
I bite down on my lip, uncertain. “She cried herself to sleep two weeks ago, and I honestly don’t think I’ve ever witnessed such heartbreak before. It wasn’t me she was crying over, Sierra.”
She wraps her arms around herself and takes a deep, steadying breath. “Two weeks ago… that’s when she brought me cookies.”
I nod slowly. “She mentioned something about that,” I mutter, a hint of jealousy taking root deep inside my chest. Out of all the vows she decided to break, this is the one she won’t. It hurts to know her loyalty to my sister outweighs the loyalty she should’ve shownme.
Sierra stares at me, her gaze conflicted. “Did you really tell Celeste you don’t want her as your wife?” I freeze, my eyes snapping to hers. “She said you’d asked for a clean break when your time is up and reassured me she wouldn’t intrude in our lives.”
“I thought you two talked about cookies?”
Sierra wraps her arms around herself, her expression pained.“Did you?”
I nod hesitantly.
